South African engineers freed after two years in Equatorial Guinea jail

Two South African engineers have returned home after spending more than two years in jail in Equatorial Guinea on what the UN has called “arbitrary and illegal” drugs charges.

Frik Potgieter and Peter Huxham, both in their mid-50s, were arrested in February 2023 after drugs were allegedly found in their luggage.

They were sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined $5m (£4m) but have been given a presidential pardon after a long campaign by their families and the South African government.

Their arrest came days after luxury assets belonging to Equatorial Guinea’s Vice-President Teodoro Nguema Obiang were seized in South Africa.

A yacht and two Cape Town villas belonging to Obiang, who is also the son of Equatorial Guinea’s president, were impounded in execution of a court ruling.

“We are overwhelmed with relief and joy. The last two years and four months have been unimaginably painful for both of our families,” according to a statement released by the two men’s families.

They were working for the Dutch oil and gas company SBM in Equatorial Guinea when they arrested the night before they were due to return home after a five-week stint in the country.

The families had called for the assistance of the South African government as well as that of the UK government, as Mr Huxham has dual nationality.

“South Africa expresses its sincere gratitude to the Government of Equatorial Guinea for considering and ultimately granting this Presidential pardon, allowing Mr Huxham and Mr Potgieter to return home to their loved ones,” said a post on X by South African Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola.

The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention last year called for the pair’s release, saying their detention was unlawful.

Their families say the pair were arrested in retaliation for the seizure of the assets belonging to Equatorial Guinea’s vice-president.

The BBC has contacted Equatorial Guinea for comment.

A South African official told the BBC it was for the courts to decide the fate of the yacht and villas, and the government couldn’t intervene.